Soups & Stews

Potato Soup

2 potatoes
1 small onion
2 rashers (pieces) of streaky bacon
250 ml or 1/2 pint milk
1 tbsp flour
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
chopped parsley

Prepare and finely chop or grate the vegetables. Remove the rind from the bacon and cut up finely. Sauté the bacon, potatoes, and onion for about 5 minutes. Add the water and bay leaf and boil slowly for 20 minutes. Add the milk, remove the bay leaf and bring to boil. Blend the flour with a little water and slowly add to the soup, stirring all the time. Finally, season to taste, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. Serves two.

Irish Stew

500g or 1 lb of mutton (or lamb)
1 kg or 2 lb potatoes
250g or 1/2 lb onions
250g or 1/2 lb carrots
sprigs of parsley, chopped
250 ml or 1/2 pint water or stock
salt and pepper

Cut the meat into medium-sized chunks. Peel and thickly slice the vegetables. Put the meat, vegetables and chopped parsley into a pot in layers, starting and finishing with the potatoes and seasoning each layer. Pour over the stock or water and cover the pot with a well-fitting lid. Stew gently for about 2 hours, until the meat is tender and the liquid thickened. If lamb is used instead of mutton, then allow 1 1/2-2 hours cooking time. Serves four.